Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-23
AROUND THE WORLD.
How Men Are to be Nhir1Od Over
Caspian Sands.

Caspian sands.
New York, July S.-A yea. or two
ago, making the best possible time, a
traveller could not have gone around
the world in less than about 100 days.
In America and in Europe, and be-
tween them, travel has long been
reduced to a science, but this is not
half around the globe. Two great
enterprises have now been put on foot
-one of which has just been accomp-
lished, and the other is intended to be
finished within five years-whereby
the Pacific may already be crossed in
ocean "greyhounds, and the Asiatic
continent will BE- traversed by a rail-
road. Already the trans-Asiatic jour-
ney has been shortened greatly by the
construction of the trans-Caspian
road, just completed by Rus
sia. Its route runs through
ever-moving sand Of a desert destitute
of water and wood In its construc-
tion the danger from ever-moving sand
was obviated thus: Clay was brought
from a great distance and spread over
sand; sea-water was brought and
sprinkled over that uneasy element /;
at last fences were built against sandy
winds, Water was brought to the
railway stations from the neighboring
mountains by system of pipes with
out any pumps. As to fuel, oil from
Baku proved to be an excellent sub
stitute for wood and coal-a substitute
that has been made in Pennsylvania.
Beside it's military significance, this
railway is very important from an eco
nomic standpoint. Russia annually
imports cotton Chiefly from the United
States) valued at from 70,006,0 900 to
S0,000'000 roubles in gold (from $780,
O00,000'to $90,00O,000.) Now it is
said that considerable amount of cot
ton will be brought from Central Asia.
Formerly to transport from Buchara
to Moscow took about four months,
and now it is only ten days. Within
a short time from the opening of the
railway for private parties, there was
transported by it about 100000
pounds of cotton, 1t is possible that
some time in the future Russian man.
ufacturers will stop buying our cotton;
but we can take some satisfaction in
the fact that it was an American
locomotive that first ran on that rail
way and wakened the wild inhabitants
of deserts and oases of Central Asia.
But to return to the journey around
the world. The trans-Caspian road
las shortened it good deal. But the
greatest shortening of the journey will
be made by the completion of the
trans-Siberian road.
A project to build railroad through
the great territory of Siberia was made
by an American company about ten
years ago, which offered its services
and capital to the Russian Govern
ment. As the Gar would not agree
to the terms of the offer, which were
like those on which the Pacific rail-
roads were built in this country, the
project was then dropped. But the
American suggestion has had its effect
in Russia. Now there arr two lines
having their termini on the Ural, one
at Orenburg and the other ut Ekater-
inburg, both places being distant from
st. Petersburg about 1900 miles. The
Gar has approved the decision of the
Council of the Empire to build rail-
way running from the Ural mountains
all the way to the Pacific, distance
of 5130 miles by direct route.
However, as in Siberia there are on
the route great rivers like the Missis-
sippi and Missouri, they will serve to
shorten the railway proper by the es-
tablishment of steamship lines. The
great Russian railway (about 1000
miles, will run as follows: st. Peters
burg, Moscow, Nijni-Novogorod, To-
bolsk, Tomak, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal,
Stretinish, Nertchinsk and Vladivos-
tok. Nladivostok is situated on the
farthest south point of the Pacific
shore belonging to Russia, and is the
only Siberian harbor that does not
freeze during the winter. The time
that will be required for the journey
from st. Petersburg to Vladivostok is
about fifteen days. The trip across
the Pacific has just been shortened
by the fast line of steamers
from Vancouver to Yokohama,
which makes the journey in fifteen
days. This will soon be shortened.
Alreadyit has had the effect of lessen
ing the price of passage from San
Francisco to China to 5000. By the
great Siberian railway the world-gird-
ling excursion will be greatly short
ened. Let traveller start eastward
from New York. In six days he will
be at Liverpool; in three days more at
st. Petersburg; in fifteen days more
on the Pacific Coast at Vladivostok ;
six days more at Shanghai or Yoko-
hama; fifteen days more at Vancou-
yer, and five days more back again in